ARLINGTON, Texas — When Kim Ng was hired to lead the Miami Marlins in November 2020, it made national news. He was on “Today” and received a text message from former first lady Michelle Obama. The weight of being the first woman and the first person of East Asian descent to serve as general manager of an MLB team meant that everything she did was a headline.
Women in the industry, and some outside of it, texted me at the time about the gravity of the moment — how it was about time, and why it took so long, and would it open the door for more many women in sports, especially baseball?
Privately, we’re all looking forward to everything you might expect when a woman from an underrepresented group steps into a high-profile position in a male-dominated world: Please be good enough to keep your job.
But it’s how that job is finished that really speaks volumes.
Kim Ng is a reluctant trailblazer. Now, he’s a certified badass.
There are only 30 MLB teams. Only 30 people truly lead a baseball operations staff. And Ng – who declined his share of a mutual option for 2024 – left once it was clear he would no longer be one of them. He did this without (to our knowledge) another job at hand. She did it matter-of-factly, saying The Athletic’s Tyler Kepner that he and owner Bruce Sherman “were not completely aligned on what (baseball operations) should look like and I felt it was best to leave.”
Just spoke with Kim Ng, who stepped down as Marlins GM this morning. He said: “Last week, Bruce (Sherman) and I discussed his plan to reshape the Baseball Operations department. In our discussions, it became apparent that we were not completely aligned… 1/3
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) October 16, 2023
And in doing so, Ng did more in a matter of minutes for women in sports — many of whom still feel, inadvertently or otherwise, that we’re lucky to have our jobs and should not rock the boat by asking for the pay or power of our male counterparts — any more than he did three years before.
Know your worth. He knows.
The Marlins lapped up the positive press that came with hiring Derek Jeter to a CEO position and his decision to hire Ng, who he said at the time was just the best person for the job. (What a novel concept!)
Jeter left less than two years ago, saying the organization wouldn’t do what he was told they would do from a competitive (and spending) standpoint. He has his critics, outside and inside the Marlins organization.
Ng, who was informed last week in a conversation with Sherman that the organization wanted to hire a president above him, also has critics. While much of the organization praised him for turning around the culture and taking the Marlins to their first full-season playoff appearance since 2003, there was no universal support. Detractors say he can be abrasive, he’s hard to work with, that he’s put holdovers from previous Marlins regimes under their weight. In other words, she’s a woman in a position of power who isn’t content to smile gorgeously and say, “I’m just happy to be here,” about a role she’s qualified for over the years. (Never mind that people often praise people for both perseverance and anoint them as strong leaders.)
Ng wants to make changes, to reorganize the operations of baseball to have people who reflect his vision all pulling on the same rope. Manager Skip Schumaker and assistant general manager Oz Ocampo were among those who recently sang his praises The Athletic. Instead, he was essentially told: Good job, but we’re hiring someone to really take charge now.
Ng is likely one of the lowest paid general managers in baseball, as Miami is a smaller MLB market and Sherman isn’t exactly known for lavish spending. (At least, not on the team he belongs to. He treating his boat better than the person most responsible for the team’s success.)
One step forward, two steps back. That’s how women sometimes feel moving in sports. The same week that Alyssa Nakken interviewed for the Giants’ managerial position, Ng felt disrespected to resign from a job that took her three decades to earn.
At a time when women are gradually being hired for traditionally male roles, we are leading the way and talking about breaking glass ceilings more than ever. Ng is a reminder that just getting a job shouldn’t be the end game. It’s having success in the role, fighting to do it your way, and making it easier for other women and people from underrepresented groups to follow your path.
Women are not just happy here. We’re not bright and shiny things to put on top of your press release like lawn ornaments.
Sure as hell not.
(Photo: Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
